June 2021 goals
You’re pretty well up to date on what’s going on at our house these days – let’s dive into where we’re headed in June!
On my calendar this month:
— Father’s Day
— Blueberry picking at our favorite local farm, hopefully many times. Not sure how we will manage this with John’s mobility, but we’re determined!
— Swim lessons for June at our neighborhood pool
— My parents’ 40th wedding anniversary! They’ll be with us on the big day, so, along with my sisters, I want to do something to make it special.
What I’m loving right now:
— This article about pandemic memories in The Atlantic is my jam, focusing as it does on the narratives we form for ourselves and how they transform the ways we move forward from hard times. “We use our memory in part to create a continuous sense of self, she told me, ‘a ‘narrative identity’ through all of life’s ups and downs: I am a person whose life has meaning and purpose. I’m more than the subject of brute forces. There’s a Story of Me.‘”
— This patriotic seersucker dress is so darling I bought three of them – one sized for June to wear this year, one sized for June to wear next year, and one for baby sister to wear next year. Obsessed. Also, June wore this blue eyelet dress for her preschool graduation last week and it is also darling!
— I shared this printable summer calendar from Simply on Purpose on IG yesterday. Summer days are much less predictable than they are in the school year, and with all that’s going on in our family right now, I thought it would be fun and helpful for June to see what’s going on each day, and anticipate things that are coming up! We taped it up in our hallway and so far it’s been a hit.
What I read in May:
— Atomic Habits | I am 95% finished, and it’s earning its 42k (!!!) reviews. As a professional goal setter and teacher myself, it’s neat to see how his ideas dovetail with Cultivate’s, but are explained in slightly different ways. Definitely worth the read!
— Evvie Drake Starts Over | Very sweet! It immediately won my heart for being set in a small midcoast Maine town, but I think any of you would find it a perfect summer beach read.
My reading list for 2021, if you’d like to follow along!
Revisiting my May goals:Order custom roman shades for the Magnolia Room (Fabric has been delivered to the seamstress – I can’t wait to see how they turn out!)
Clean out the Magnolia Room dresser and closet (About halfway done! Sold some things on Marketplace, too.)
Order and hang curtains for our master bedroom (I chose the ones I want, but haven’t yet placed the order! Need to confirm measurements.)Plan (and maybe hold?) the garden party (Planning is well underway – fingers crossed for good weather next week!)Make my Big List for baby girl (Done!)
Research EFM book options (No progress here.)Make EFM content plan through Q3 (Done!)
Camp in our backyard (Didn’t get to this in May, but June is very excited to do this, so I think we’ll aim to do it in June!)Prep for trips to Charlottesville and Connecticut (Charlottesville was wonderful! So glad we got it in when we did.)
Try again with the meal prep/chopping nights (I did one! Then things got derailed :))
June goals:
— Print and frame a few of our maternity family photos
— Buy and wrap gifts for kids “from baby sister,” and shop with June for stuffie for baby sister
— Execute and enjoy the garden party!
— Give info for our Meal Train to be set up
— Plan for newborn photos
— Update older kiddo baby books
— Plan ahead for John’s birthday and Shep’s birthday
— Send our 2010-2014 family album to print (this is taking WAY longer than the 2005-2009 one!)
— Film June in June, Volume 6! Will be challenging with John’s hands occupied, but it will certainly capture a memorable season in our family’s life…
As a reminder, many of these are drawn from my 2021 goals!
You can see the next books in my stack at the top of this post – I’d love to hear what’s next on your list, what’s on your bedside table or in your library queue, or what you’re looking forward to reading this summer!
Affiliate links are used in this post!
Happy June!! Here’s hoping and praying your month/summer may be smoother than you think – I sure hope so! I’m so excited to go blueberry picking so soon – and bake lots of cobblers and muffins. Evie Drake was so sweet, and I also loved the setting. I have 17 books checked out right now and another 16 in my library queue, so I’m sure there will be LOTS of excellent reads this summer!! The ones I’m most excited about include: Infinite Country, Of Women and Salt, Malibu Rising, & Mergers and Acquisitions. My parents also celebrated their 40th anniversary last week (and my in-laws six months ago!), and happy anniversary to them!! Also love The Atlantic article – so good.
Happy June! Being Mortal is on my list for June, too – can’t wait to hear what you think. I am reading it with a family book club and think it will spark lots of great discussion! :)
Currently reading The Dutch House, per your recommendation, and it has not disappointed!
I started listening tp Barack Obama’s latest book, A Promised Land, thinking I would finish it by the end of year. Everyone’s commented on how long it is, so I figured it’d be one of those books I take in slowly while reading others. But surprisingly, I can’t stop listening to it! I might just finish it this month after all LOL
Finally read Evie Drake this year and thought it was just delightful! I subscribe to Book of the Month every few months and this month’s book is Imposter Syndrome by Kathy Wang, a fiction novel centered on a female tech CEO with a lot of secrets. Really loving it so far!
For your chopping nights… I am normally extremely anti-single taskers in the kitchen, but this thing has CHANGED MY LIFE. Especially as a major onion-lover but hater of chopping onions. It’s especially great if you batch-chop because cleaning it can sometimes be annoying (it is dishwasher safe but stuff sometimes gets stuck in the plastic part). HIGHLY recommend.
https://www.amazon.com/Mueller-Austria-Chopper-Vegetable-Container/dp/B08N9Q24M9/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=nicer+dicer&qid=1623068843&sr=8-7
Being Mortal was excellent! I would love to hear what you are doing for your parents! Mine are also celebrating 40 years of marriage this month!
A very exciting month ahead – lots to prepare for and lots to celebrate! So excited for your sweet family, Em. My June goals are up too x
https://ellieloveblog.co.za/2021/06/june-goals-5.html
Hi Em! Would you ever consider sharing your “big list” for new baby? I’m pregnant with my second (due in October) and overwhelmed trying to remember everything I need to get done. I have been following your blog for years and so trust your judgment in this (and many other) areas. Seeing what you’re thinking through as birth approaches would no doubt inspire/remind me of the steps I need to take to get my own little world in order. Take good care!
Thank you for sharing the practical way you manage your goals. It makes me hopeful that I can do the same thing. In the past, I have felt overwhelmed with the whole idea.
Congratulations on your new baby girl!